Two minors charged after causing train derailment in Laurens, S.C.

LAURENS, S.C. (WSPA) – Two minors are facing charges after officers said they broke into railroad facilities and caused a derailment in Laurens Saturday.

The Laurens Police Department said the two broke into the Carolina Piedmont Railroad and CSX Transportation Railroad between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

According to investigators, the minors started an engine that was connected to two others and drove all three engines around the yard.

“They went on YouTube to learn how to start a train and that’s how they did it. Once they climbed onto the train, they were able to start the engine,” Chief Heath Copeland with the Laurens Police Department said.

The juveniles didn’t just stop there. Police said they then drove onto the rail line heading towards Greenville. On their way back, things didn’t go according to plan.

“The track switched after they went past it. So when it came back, [they] ran into the cars that were on the same line,” Copeland said.

The collision with the parked railcars caused a derailment and significant damage to one of the cars.

“This was a dangerous and reckless act,” Copeland said in a Facebook post. “Railroad property is not a place to play. Trains, rail lines, and yards present serious risks, and unauthorized access can have life-threatening consequences.”

Police said while the stunt might sound like something out of a movie, the consequences are all too real.

“There are certain dangers out there that people don’t realize can be very, very dangerous, especially the railroad tracks,” Copeland added. “Not the companies themselves but the actual railroads. There’s lots of things going up and down the road and those (rail) cars, they don’t stop on a dime. When they collide, they collide and I mean, it’s damage. Severe damage. So, it’s not a place to play.”

The minors have been charged with burglary, second degree, grand larceny over $10,000, malicious damage to property over $10,000, willful destruction of railroad property and injury to railroad, according to the police department.

The two are in custody at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia.